40 Fresh Tomato Recipes You'll Love

Tomato Galette

Tender Parmesan-pepper pastry cradles heirloom tomatoes, shallots, goat cheese and fresh herbs in a fold-over tart that's ideal for weekend brunch. Serve it warm or at room temperature, though the leftovers taste great cold—if you have any!

Marinated Garlicky Tomatoes

Cara Mangini spoons these luscious tomatoes over crostini that she's smeared with goat cheese or ricotta, then tops each with extra basil. You can also fold them into pasta or cooked grains like farro, or serve them as a side dish with bread to mop up the juices. The recipe comes from The Vegetable Butcher cookbook.

Fresh Tomato Tart

This recipe has been a favorite with Midwest Living® readers since it was first published in August 2000. It's from Geri Boesen, creative director of the magazine. Geri combines Midwest-grown tomatoes (her favorites are from her home state of Iowa, of course) with fresh basil in a cheesy tart.

Tomato Bread

This simple tapa is served as a bar snack throughout Spain. The quantities are deliberately vague—this is a recipe you can (and should) improvise. Make it with ripe local tomatoes and the nicest olive oil you can afford for the best flavor.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Chutney on Squash

Annie France of Mission, Kansas, invented this beautiful summer dish. Juicy cherry tomatoes are roasted and served over spaghetti squash with herbs and mozzarella balls. Annie says she serves it as a side dish, but we think it would make a fantastic meatless main.

Heirloom Tomato and Onion Quiche

The recipe was developed for heirloom tomatoes such as Cherokee Purple or Brandywine, but if those aren't available, use whatever kind of tomatoes you like. Drain sliced tomatoes on a paper towel before adding them to the quiche.

Fresh Veggie Pizza

This pizza is packed full of vegetables: tomtatoes, zucchini or yellow summer squash, sweet peppers, fresh mushrooms, green onions and more. If you have kids, have them help make this with their favorite vegetables.

Suncrest Gardens Farm's Pesto Pizza

Heather Secrist uses kale in her pesto for this tomatoey creation, though you can substitute arugula, spinach or basil if you prefer. "Pesto can be frozen in ice cube trays for use throughout the year," says Heather, owner of Suncrest Gardens Farm in Cochrane, Wisconsin. "Once frozen, place the cubes in a freezer bag to pull out as you need them."

Panzanella (Bread Salad) with Summer Vegetables

A backyard garden's worth of colorful summer veggies fill this beautiful potluck salad. The toasted bread chunks absorb the dressing and juices from the tomatoes; you won't believe how delicious they taste!

Fresh Green Tomato Relish

Don't let any hard, unripened tomatoes go to waste! Pile this gingery, sweet-tart relish on brats or hamburgers, or serve it over grilled fish. The relish keeps well in the fridge for 1 week, but if you like, it can be canned for longer storage or to be given as gifts.

Tomato Salad with Queso Fresco

Chicago chef Rick Bayless says that the most intuitive approach to Mexican tomato salad is to recast chopped salsa ingredients--tomatoes, chopped green chiles, onions, cilantro and lime. "It's so delicious, such a no-brainer, and I've probably done it a hundred times," he says.

The guajillo chiles in Rick's recipe are smooth, shiny and reddish brown. In the world of chiles, they taste moderately hot.

Chunky Fresh Tomato Salsa

"A very good fresh tomato salsa is within everyone's reach," says Chicago chef Rick Bayless. He developed this recipe for people who aren't knife wizards. It uses a food processor for the garlic, green chile, cilantro and half the tomatoes. "Green onions are the easiest to cut," he says, "but feel free to use white or red onion if that's what's available or appealing."

Super-Simple Tomato Salad

For an easy summer appetizer, slice heirloom or other fresh tomatoes and season lightly with salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. It will only take a minute, but it's special enough to serve guests.

Fresh Corn, Tomato and Chipotle Chile Salsa

Homemade salsa bursts with freshness thanks to straight-from-the-garden corn, tomatoes and sweet peppers. Chipotle chiles add a hint of heat alongside the tangy lime juice. It's like a bite of summer when scooped up on corn chips. You can also serve it with grilled meat or poultry.